Safety razor



March 3, 1931. R. E. THOMPSON SAFETY RAZOR Filed July 2, 1929 Patented Ma r. 3, 1931 STATES PATET oFFIcE RALPH THOMPSON, OF BROOKLINE, .MASSACQEUSET'IS, ASSTGN OR TO GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR COMPANY, OF'BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE SAFETY RAZOR Application med July 2, 1929. Serial No. 375,539.

This invention relates to safety razors of the type wherein a cap and guard holder is employed to position a replaceable blade at substantially right angles to the handle of .the razor.

I have discovered that the capacity of such esafety razor is increased, that it is adapted or certain special uses and that its shaving efficiency is improved by providing ,a series It of spaced connecting devices formed in the holderwhich may be employed selectively in attaching the handle thereto. Certain of these. advantages are, moreover, secured by providing a connecting device located near one end of the holder Or'adjacent to the end of the cutting edgef'of theblade; for example,

when the handle is connected to the holder at a point near one end of the bladeit tends in use toimpart an oblique shaving position to 2 the blade: This is partly because the pull of the' blade u on theliandleis to some extent unbalanced so that the razor as a whole tends to swing slightly toward a position in 2 movement of the razor as a whole.

Another advantage of a razor. organized in this manner isthat substantially the entire length of the blade may, if desired, be located between the handle of the razor and the eye of the user. This facilitates securlng a straight and properly located line at the edge of the hair in-front of the users ears. Similarly the narrow portion of the blade near the end thereof and directly opposite the handle is under more immediate and perfect control of the user than heretofore and may be used with an improved degree of accuracy. I

While the advantages above discussed are derived primarily from locating a connecting device for thehandle adjacent to one end of the holder, a series of spaced connecting devices, including one located substantially symmetrically in the holder, afford the user a wide range of choice in the character and ad ustment of his razor during the shaving operation. For example, he may prefer to employ the razor with the handle symmetri-.'

cally disposed for shaving the first time over his face and then change to an unsymmetri- -which the blade is oblique to the line of having a convex outer surface and a concave cal disposition of the handle for the second time over and for accurate trimming of different parts of his face.

These and other features of the invention will bebest understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for-purposes ,of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a safety razor showing the handle connected at a point adjacent to one end of the holder.

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the cap.

I Fig- 3 is a view in perspective on a reduced scale showing the razor in Fig. 1' in use, and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view indicating the tendency of the '.'razor to advance the specific form of razor.

The holder comprises a cap member 10 inner blade-shaping surface. The cap is provided with two threaded studs of substantially equal length which project in parallel relation from the blade-shaping surface of the cap. The stud 14 is located in the capsubstantially symmetrically; that is to say' half way between its end and intersecting its lon itudinal axis. The stud 12 is located centra ly of the .cap adjacent to one end.

The guard member 16 corresponds substan- 8 tially in length to thecap 10 and is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending shoul-- ders 17 over which the edges of the blade are bent when the razor is assembled. 1 It is provided with guard teeth along either edge and with perforations for the'passage of the threaded studs 12 and 14. 4 J The blade 20 is of thin flexible steel sharpened at both edges and provided with apertures adapted to register with and receive the studs 12 and 1-1. The handle 18 is internally threaded at'its lower end and may be connectedto the holder by threaded engagement with either of the studs 12 or 14:. As shown in the accompanying drawing it is connected to the stud 12, and accordingly located adjacent to the left-hand end of the blade 20. By disengaging the handle 18 from the stud l2 and connectingit to the stud 14 a razor of the'.well-known symmetrical and balanced type is secured.

By connecting the handle to unbalanced construction is secured, graphically represented in Fig. 4'; In thisfigure the broken line 22 indicatesthe initial position of the handle and the broken line 24 the initial position'of the blade. The arrows 26 7 indicate the theoretical uniformly distributed frictional and shaving resistance to the movement of the blade in a direction perpendicular to its edge. Thecenter of this effect is represented by the arrow 30. It will be apparent, therefore, that the resultant of this force-tends to swing the razor as a Whole in the position indicated in Fig. 4 by full lines whenever an attempt is made to move the razor in a direction perpendicular to its cutting edge. The result is an oblique disposition of the blade with reference to its line of movement, which is the most favorable conditionfor an efiicient shaving cut..

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A' safety razor comprising an elongated holder, a blade positioned therein, a handle disposed at an angle to the holder, and means presenting a series-of spaced parallel thread ed stems constructed and arranged to be se lectively engagedby the handle;

a g 2. A safety razor compri'singa cap and guard holder having a blade positioned 5 therein, a handle disposed at an angle to the blade, and means presenting separate thread- I ed stems arranged in parallel relation and located at different positions along the axis of the blade to be selectively engaged by the handle. o

3. A safety razor comprising a cap and guard holder having a blade positioned therein, a handle disposed? at right angles to the blade, and separate threaded stems ar ranged inparallel relation on the holder and located at. difl'erent points in its length which may beselectively engaged by the handle;

4. A safety razor comprisinga cap and a guard shaped to clampa flexible blade between them, the cap having threaded stems' projecting in parallel relation through openings. in the guard, one of said stems being located at the center of the cap and the other being located near one end thereof, and

a handle arranged to be connected to either stem as desired Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this first' day 'of July, 1929'. v Y

RALPH E. THOMPSON.

the stud 1 2 an 

